Help: How to turn down a school you accepted (with a twist)

Question

So I was accepted to the Haas EWMBA program and was thrilled that my top choice selected me. Paid deposit, completed pre-req's, got time off for the orientation. Then life happened.

I'm having some major family issues at the moment. I'm really going back and forth on this. 1st year is tough, and with the crisis going on, there is .00001% chance I think I can come out of both the crisis and 1st year. Oh, all that with 50 hour work weeks. Haas has a rare deferment policy that does not apply in my situation. How do I write them a letter tellign them of this terribly difficult decision and my 110% commitment to reapply as soon as my situation stabalizes (it will never get better). I'm hoping next year but you never know... Any thoughts, tips, or tricks are greatly apprcaited.

mbagal1 · Answer

Hi

If you already went through the orientation, I would suggest talking to someone in admissions to make it more personal. A letter will be required, but it will useful for you to explain to them what you are going through so they will empathize. From your post, it looks like you will need to reapply anyway, so on the one hand it may not be worth the effort to meet and talk to someone, on the other hand, you never know what will come out of the meeting and things may work in your favor.

That is what I would do if I were in your position.

Good luck!

zakk · Answer

thanks for the reply. Orientation is Aug. 8, so I'm going to sleep on this and come up with a final decision on Friday. I just can't seem to pull the trigger.

mbagal1 · Answer

Ok, is transferring to the part time program till your situation stabilizes not an option? that way you could keep your workload lesser and just take one or two classes initially.

zakk · Answer

I am accepted to the PT. FT was never an option.

fooFighter · Answer

Ask them to defer your admission by a year.

zakk · Answer

mbavacation · Answer

What about, "your loan was not approved because you had some temorary glitch in your credit history. You just found this when applying for educational loan. Seems like it was a mistake by one of your credit providers. You talked to them and they mentioned that it might take couple of months before your credit history is corrected."

isa · Answer

am in the app process myself but thought I'd offer my two cents: it seems that the best option is probably to have a 1-1 chat with their director of admissions where you can explain the situation. Hopefully they'll be compassionate and either agree to help you defer your admission or put in a good note for when you apply again for next year. At the end of the day, they have to realize that there's life outside our quest for the MBA - sometimes it works out in our favor, sometimes there are roadblocks - so if nothing else, I would hope they note (in your file or whatever) that you really want to go to Haas but your situation doesn't permit that...then if (worst case) you apply again next year, you can mention the conversation you had in one of the optional essays...

cheers,
ac.

cheers,
ac.

kryzak · Answer

zakk! oh no! sorry I didn't see this thread until now.

Like someone said, i would have a 1-on-1 personal talk with the admissions director and see what he/she can suggest. It's better than any impersonal email or letter, no matter how well you write it. Very sad that you may not be joining us at Haas this year, and best of luck with your situation. BTW, give me a call if you want to chat. I'll try to call you Friday if I get a chance.

zakk · Answer

quick update:

After all the advice, I spoke with the Asst. director on Friday. I'm going to talk to them again this week and see how best to proceed.

Help: How to turn down a school you accepted (with a twist)

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